Acceptance
by Sovereign64
Summary: This is the story of Kasumi Kinomoto, a girl who has lost her reason to live. But she soon finds herself back on track when she stumbled across a Shinto shrine, ran by an elderly woman named Hitoha Miyamizu. ONESHOT


**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Kimi No Na Wa./Your Name.**_ **, Makoto Shinkai does.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: This story takes place between the events of the film and my first** _ **Your Name**_ **fanfic,** _ **Happiness**_ **. And the main character of this story made her first actual appearance in my third story,** _ **Being With You**_ **. If you haven't read my other** _ **Your Name**_ **stories, you will be very confused.**

* * *

 _ **Acceptance**_

A red-haired girl dashes through the streets of Ikebukuro. Her hair, clothes and backpack are completely soaked. She breathed heavily as she desperately tries to find any sort of shelter from the heavy rain.

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. As she places her hands on her thighs and lowers her head to take deep breaths, a car suddenly passes by and speeds through the puddle next to the girl. The girl shrieks and backs away from the road as huge amounts of water splashes onto her, soaking her clothes and hair even more. She snarled as she turns around and shouted.

"YOU LOUSY BUM!"

The girl pushes aside the strands of hair dangling in front of her eyes and whirled about. She looks up and narrows her eyes as something caught her attention. She walks forward to take a closer look at the object which had been obscured by the heavy rain. The object became clearer as she moves closer and it turns out to be a Torii gate.

The girl widens her eyes. She must be right in front of a Shinto shrine. She turns her head side to side; making sure nobody is around before she bows down to the gate and enters the property of the shrine.

When she reached the doorways to the shrine, she slowly opens the pair of wooden doors and entered. She lets out a sigh, feeling relieved to finally be standing under some sort of shelter. She drops her backpack and sweeps back her blood red hair, letting several droplets of water splash onto the wooden floor beneath her wet boots.

After wiping off the water from her hair and face, the girl looks around her surroundings. The shrine is completely silent, with the only sound being the dripping of water droplets from the girl's hair and clothes. She noticed the exterior of the shrine look very run down earlier and the interior is no different.

She turns back to the front and her eyes landed on a sake barrel placed in front of the shrine's altar. She walks over to the barrel, leaving shoe-shaped puddles of water on the floor with every step.

She kneels down and removes the lid from the barrel. She looks inside and sees a large amount of sake inside. She smiled in relief and looks up at the altar. She places the lid on the floor and bows her head to the altar to offer her gratitude. She carries the barrel up, carefully placing her lips at the sides and began slowly drinking its contents.

"Oh my, who do we have here?"

The girl's eyes snapped open upon hearing the voice. She quickly places the barrel down and turns her head to the right to see an elderly woman standing at the doorway to the other room of the shrine, looking back at her in surprise.

The girl quickly gets up and whirled about. She tries to make her leave but the elderly woman spoke to her with reassurance, "It's okay dear! No need to be alarmed!" She froze at her tracks and turns to the elder again.

"This is a shrine after all. Everybody is invited here, stranger or not." The elder gave the girl a tender smile as she adjusts her glasses.

The girl's eyes softened. "You don't think I'm some sort of criminal who had trespass your property?" She inquired.

"No. Not at all." The elderly woman shook her head. "To me, you're a poor little girl who is completely drenched and desperately looking for shelter from the heavy rain, am I right?"

The girl examines her own body and clothes before hanging her head. "Yes." She replied lamely.

"Then you are welcome to stay here until the rain had stopped."

Suddenly, the girl's stomach growled, causing her to clutch her sides in embarrassment.

"Hungry?" The elderly woman asked. The girl looks back at her and nodded. "And you're thirsty too, seeing how you were drinking my sake earlier."

"Sorry that I drank it without your permission." The girl said softly.

"It's okay, dear. Tell me, what is your name?"

"My name…" The girl whispered as she pushes aside the strands of hair that were dangling in front of her eyes. "Kinomoto. Kasumi Kinomoto."

"Nice to meet you, Kinomoto." The elderly woman said as she bowed her head to her. "My name is Hitoha Miyamizu."

The girl momentarily took a gulp. "Nice to meet you…Miyamizu-sama." She turns to the barrel for a brief moment before turning to Hitoha again. "So…what kind of sake is this anyway? It actually tastes kind of sour."

"Kuchikamizake." Hitoha replied.

The reply from Hitoha causes Kasumi's eyes to nearly bulge out from their sockets. "You mean that sake that is made through human saliva?" She cried. Instantly after Hitoha gave her a solemn nod, Kasumi turns around, clutching her stomach and sticks her tongue out as she kneels down and make several sounds of disgust.

The display however made Hitoha laughed in amusement.

* * *

After Hitoha took her to a wooden room at the back of the shrine, she handed Kasumi a warm towel to dry herself. As Kasumi dries her hair with the towel, Hitoha leaves the room temporarily to prepare some food for her visitor.

Kasumi wraps the towel around her body and kneels down on a zabuton placed on the floor. She knelt there, waiting patiently for Hitoha's return and remained silent for a long period of time.

Eventually, the door in front of Kasumi slides open and Hitoha reenters the room while carrying a tray, containing the meal that she had made for her.

"Here you go, dear." Hitoha places the tray onto the floor and in front of Kasumi. "It isn't much but that's all the food we have here. If my younger granddaughter was here, I'm sure she could have come up with something better than this."

As Hitoha laughed, Kasumi gazed at the food that had been laid in front of her. She sees a spoon, a pair of chopsticks, a cup of warm water, a bowl of rice and a plate of spinach slices placed on the tray. She clasps her hands together and bows her head.

"Itadakimasu." She mumbled before picking up the cup of water and drinks it. After taking a sip, she puts the cup down and picks up the chopsticks. She uses them to pick up a slice of spinach and places it onto her rice. She then puts the chopsticks down, grabs the spoon and began eating her food.

After swallowing her food, fresh tears appear in her eyes. Hitoha watch as Kasumi places her bowl of rice and spoon down and began sobbing.

"What's wrong?" Hitoha asked in concern as she gently places a hand on her back.

"I…I don't understand…" Kasumi managed to say between her sobs. "Why…why are you being…so nice to me?"

"Why shouldn't I be nice to my visitor?" Hitoha said as she made a small smile.

Kasumi shakes her head as she continued sobbing. "Because I don't deserve such kindness from anyone."

"Why would you say that?" Hitoha asked as Kasumi wipes off the tears from her eyes, but new ones were quickly formed immediately after.

"My so-called friends and I were caught by the police for inhaling drugs. I never wanted to sniff glue ever in my life but they forced me to. I tried to defend myself but the police still arrest me because I'm a member of their group. We were then brought to the police station and I waited for my mother to pick me up. We both argued each other when we got back home. And then the next day, all of my classmates, including the ones who actually cared for me, avoided me and said horrible things to me. I hated my so-called friends for what they did to me, so we slapped and punched each other in school. And because nobody, not even my mother or teacher, wanted to talk to me for the last few days, that's when I realized I'm all alone now. I've emotionally hurt my mother and everybody I knew in school despises me. So yesterday, I decided to run away from home and never show myself to anyone again!"

Kasumi finished her explanation with a loud wail as more hot tears freely roll down her cheeks.

Hitoha sighed before she began rubbing her back gently in an attempt to comfort her.

"Sshhh, don't cry dear." Hitoha hushed her. "Everything is going to be fine."

Kasumi shakes her head as she managed to choke out. "No. No it's not. I'm now homeless and I don't have anyone to turn to anymore."

"Come now, who says you're homeless?" Hitoha said. "You can stay here in this shrine for the time being."

The red-haired girl turns to her with tearstained eyes. "I can?" She asked with a sniffle.

Hitoha nodded with a tender smile. "Until you feel all better, you can choose to stay here as long as you like." She said to the young girl before patting her shoulder. "But first, let's get you some new clothes."

Kasumi quickly covers her mouth with a hand before she sneezed. She rubs the bottom of her nose and sniffled again. "Yeah."

* * *

After she finished eating her food, Hitoha escorts her to the changing room. When they entered the room, Kasumi stood and watched Hitoha going over to the wardrobe to get her visitor a new set of clothes. After closing the wardrobe doors, Hitoha walks back to Kasumi and hands them over to her.

"These robes used to be worn by my elder granddaughter. She no longer works as a maiden but I still kept her clothes after all these years. So handle them with care, will you?"

Kasumi nods her head before taking the clothes from her.

"Now get changing while I go get a futon for you." Hitoha turned and walks her way out of the room.

After the elder Miyamizu left, Kasumi temporarily puts aside her new clothes by placing them on the floor. She proceeds to take off the wet clothes that she is currently wearing. Once she had taken everything off, she puts on the clothes that Hitoha had lent her.

She looks down at the white haori and red hakama that she had put on and frowned as she places her hands on the sides of her hip. She knows she is in a Shinto shrine so wearing these traditional Japanese clothes is to be expected, but as someone who lives in urban areas for her whole life, she is more accustomed to flashier and edgier clothes, and wearing a haori and a hakama does feel very surreal to her.

As Kasumi continues examining her new clothes, Hitoha steps into her room while carrying a rolled-up futon and a huge smile takes form on her face as she sees her.

"Oh, I'm so glad they're a perfect fit for you!" She said enthusiastically as she closes the sliding door behind her. "What do you think?"

"No offense but…I look stupid." Kasumi replied dully to Hitoha as she looks up at her.

"Nonsense, dear. You'll get used to it." Hitoha said, flapping a hand nonchalantly as she walks over to her. "My younger granddaughter didn't like the clothes at first either but she eventually got used to it. Now step aside."

Kasumi obliged and backs away while the elder Miyamizu slowly kneels down and laid the futon onto the floor. After Hitoha got up, Kasumi goes over to the side of the mattress, kneels down and wipes off the dust from the futon with her bare hands.

"Do you know what the time now is?" Hitoha asked.

Kasumi goes over the left corner of the room where she had placed her backpack. She removes the phone from her backpack and looks at the time displayed on the screen. "It's 7.15 pm."

"Oh dear, so soon?" Hitoha widens her eyes and adjusts her glasses. "Well, I better get going. I don't want my granddaughters to worry about me. If you ever feel thirsty, you are free to go to the kitchen and grab some more tea and water from the dispensers."

Hitoha heads over to the sliding door and Kasumi looks up at her. "Are there any other people in this shrine besides you?" She asked just as Hitoha opens the door.

"No." Hitoha turned.

"Seriously?" Kasumi tilts her head to the side and arches an eyebrow. "You run this shrine all by yourself? Don't you ever feel lonely?"

"Of course I do. But this is Tokyo after all. It's hard to find people around your age willing to work as shrine priests and maidens in these urban places, you know?" Hitoha chuckled.

"I see." Kasumi's eyes softened. "Miyamizu-sama…" She bows down to her with gratitude. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Hitoha smiled and bows her head. "You're welcome." She steps out of the room and closes the door, leaving Kasumi alone in her new living quarters.

* * *

Even after the sun has rose high into the sky, Kasumi snores as she slept soundly on her futon. After not being able to get any proper rest for the last two days, she is extremely glad to finally lie down and rest on a nice, proper bed.

However, her peaceful sleep is about to be interrupted when the door slides open, revealing a stern-looking Hitoha, holding a stick and a small bronze gong in her hands.

"Rise and shine, Kinomoto-chan!"

Hitoha proceeds to hit the gong several times, causing Kasumi to squeal as she shot upright from her futon. After rubbing her eyes, she wearily turns to the elderly woman standing at the doorway.

"If you're going to stay here and not going home or school for the time being, at least make yourself useful by cleaning up the shrine!" Hitoha said to her firmly.

Kasumi stared at Hitoha in bewilderment for a moment before her look of surprise distorts into an annoyed frown and she grumbled under her breath.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, Kasumi is ordered by Hitoha to clean up the entire shrine. She starts the day by sweeping the floors with a broom, both inside and outside of the shrine. When that is done, Kasumi is told to clean the decorative wall of kuchikamizake barrels located outside at the left side of the shrine next. She cleaned and wiped each barrel with a wet cloth and a disgusted look on her face, still grimly reminded of what she drank yesterday.

Finally, she is told to dust off the entire altar and all of the religious items displayed on it. She is warned not to break or drop any religious item while cleaning them thoroughly.

While Kasumi is doing all of the cleaning, Hitoha is staying inside her own room at the left side of the shrine. The red-haired girl does wonder what she could be doing inside while she is helping to clean the properties of her shrine.

Kasumi felt a sense of exhaustion and irritation as she does these chores. Back home, she never did any housework. That job is handled only by her mother while she on the other hand would stay in her room and relax. It has been like that ever since her so-called father abandoned them. But now that she did actual cleaning herself, she finally realizes how tough it must be for her mother to do all of the chores without any help almost every day of the week.

Kasumi grumbled under her breath as she finished cleaning the vase with a wet cloth and carefully places it back on the wooden table. The thought of it does make Kasumi sympathize her mother and hate herself even more. She lowers her head with a frown. Is there anything she could do to redeem herself and make up for all the trouble she had inflicted on her mother?

"Lunch is ready!" Hitoha called to Kasumi when she enters the main room with a tray of food and cups of tea in her hands. Kasumi lifts her head up as her thoughts were snapped and she turned to Hitoha. "Contemplating on something?"

"Well…yeah." Kasumi said as she strokes her own hair.

"Why don't you tell me all about it over our meal?" Hitoha said. Kasumi nodded her head before going over to Hitoha. They sat down on the floor together in the middle of the room. Hitoha places the tray down on the floor and Kasumi took a look at the food. There are two bowls of rice, two bowls of miso soup and two cups of jasmine tea.

She looks up at Hitoha who gave her a nod. The two then close their eyes and clasp their hands together. "Itadakimasu." They say in unison before they began eating their meal.

As they eat their food, Kasumi explains to Hitoha about her family and background. The elder Miyamizu attentively listen to her story.

"My dad…let's just say he's the most useless and despicable person in the entire world. He mostly does nothing but gamble and spends all our hard-earned money away. He always spent his money until his wallet goes dry and as he goes on, it got worst. It's to the point that he resorts to stealing my own pocket savings to carry on his gambling. I told my mother that my money went missing and she got furious. I idly stood by and watch her and my dad argue. Their fight ended when my father just walks out of our home…and that's when I never saw him again. And after he left, things actually got worse for us. Because we had little money left, my mother and I went through a lot of financial problems and we both struggle a lot to get by every day. I hated my father so much for all the hardships he brought on us. I hated the misery and despair my mother and I went through." Kasumi paused for a moment to let out a sigh. "And then that hatred…affected me. Before I could even realize, my behavior towards other people greatly changed. I became wild and violent both in school and home. My relationship with my mother started to change and other students in school were scared of me. There were my teacher and some students in my class who tried to talk to me and encourage me to be a better person. But I never showed back my appreciation for them. Because I feel that there is no one in school who is truly close to me, I felt lonely and became desperate in trying to look for a friend. So I ended up joining a gang, meeting my so-called friends for the first time and…well, you know what happens next."

Hitoha gave a solemn nod after listening to Kasumi's story. She took a sip of her tea before looking back at her. "Hatred truly has blinded you to take the wrong path of life." She commented.

"Miyamizu-sama, I don't know if I could ever redeem myself. I've done so many bad things in my life after my father abandoned me and my mother. Nobody I knew would ever want to make contact with me anymore." Kasumi said somberly.

Hitoha stared at her silently for a moment before she places down her empty bowl and gestures her to follow her. "Come with me, Kinomoto-chan."

* * *

Hitoha escorts Kasumi to her own private room. She slides open the door and Kasumi immediately took a look at what is inside.

There is a takadai, a marudai and some wooden boxes. It is a rather small room but there is still plenty of space to fit all of them in. Kasumi walks over to the boxes and kneel down to take a closer look at what is inside them. She widens her eyes in awe. The boxes are filled with beautifully-knotted braided cords in various colors and patterns. She had seen many forms of braided cords before, but none that look beautiful and eye-catching as these.

"These cords…they're beautiful." Kasumi uttered as she examines them.

"Thank you." Hitoha replied as she walks over to her from behind. Kasumi turned to her.

"You made them yourself?" Kasumi inquired. Hitoha nodded with a wan smile. "That's incredible! How long have you been making them?"

"Ever since I was a little child back in my town in Gifu."

"Gifu?" Kasumi stood up and her arms hang freely by her sides. "So you're actually from the rural prefectures. What is the name of your town?"

"Itomori."

Kasumi stared at her with her mouth agape. "The town that was destroyed by Comet Tiamat five years ago?"

"Yes." Hitoha nodded again. "Both my home and family shrine perished that day. What had been there for a thousand years is gone in an instant."

"You lost everything." Kasumi said, lowering her head dejectedly.

"No. Not everything." Hitoha said, her tone now sounding more upbeat. Kasumi looks up at her with her eyes widened and she sees the warm smile on Hitoha's face. "Yes, losing the town where I've been living there for almost my entire life does feel devastating but at least I'm still alive and so are my granddaughters. And thanks to the help of my son-in-law, we managed to relocate to Tokyo and move into a new, comfortable home. Of course, it wasn't all rosy for us after we moved here. Because I've been living in a rural area for almost my entire life, everything here in the big city looks alien to me. Aside from our television and kitchen appliances, I wasn't familiar with most of the modern technology at all. I don't even know how to take a picture with those flat phones you youngsters love to use these days." She and Kasumi laughed for a moment.

"My younger granddaughter is still studying in elementary at the time. For a whole month, she felt uncomfortable studying in a new school and all of her old classmates back in Itomori have moved to different schools or cities. My elder granddaughter also didn't fare better. She dreamt of going to Tokyo all her life, but after the incident in Itomori, she felt gloomy, constantly staring into space and cried every day in the morning. Her sister and I were worried for her well-being so we tried our best to look after her and help her get back on track."

"Did she manage to recover?"

"Yes, but not entirely. She managed to find a job as an office clerk and she still keeps in touch with her childhood friends, but she is still mostly quiet and rarely smiles. But no matter what, my younger granddaughter and I are always there to reassure her that she is never alone and we will always be there by her side."

Kasumi lowers her head and stayed silent for a moment to reflect on everything Hitoha had told her. She then looks back up at Hitoha who continued.

"As for me, thanks to the help of my younger granddaughter, she taught me some of the new technology that people are usually using these days. That helped me adapt into my new living environment a lot better. However, even after two years since we've moved to Tokyo, I still missed Itomori dearly. The destruction of my former hometown didn't stop my burning desire to keep itomori's traditions alive. My hometown may be gone, but I'm still in love with it. The funny thing is when we first moved here, my son-in-law advised me to forget about our family traditions and just retire now that the old shrine is destroyed. But what does he know? He still thinks I'm just an old lady, but I wasn't born yesterday, you know? So I decided to restart Miyamizu Shrine. With the help of my granddaughters, we scour across Toshima until we managed to find this small empty shrine that had been abandoned for many years. We contacted Toshima's government office, expressing our desire to buy the place and after many discussions which of course, my elder granddaughter helped me to handle, this shrine officially became a property to the Miyamizus."

A warm smile plasters across Kasumi's face. The red-haired girl felt emotionally captivated by Hitoha's inspiring story in coping with the loss of her former hometown, her family's struggle in adapting to their new lives in Tokyo and her desire to restart Miyamizu Shrine. She could feel some tears forming in her eyes and she quickly wipes them away. Hitoha gave her a gentle pat on her right shoulder.

"So don't ever say that you cannot redeem yourself, Kinomoto-chan. Nothing is impossible to accomplish. My family and I had endured more sufferings than you. And yet every time it happens, we still get back up to our feet and keep moving forward because at least we still have each other." Hitoha said, smiling back at Kasumi.

Kasumi looked around the room for a moment before staring back at Hitoha. "Your family shrine means everything to you, does it?"

"As a Miyamizu, it is my duty to keep Itomori's spirit and traditions alive. What has been my responsibility for my whole life is what reminded me to keep going in life." Hitoha uttered. "One thousand years of Itomori's history are etched into every braided cord I knotted. As long as I continue making these cords, my old hometown will never truly disappear."

Kasumi turned away momentarily and lets out a sigh, pondering what Hitoha had told her. She may be an elderly lady, and yet she still possesses the strength and will to keep moving forward every day in her life. So if Hitoha can do it, why can't she as well? Kasumi took a gulp. She may have lost the trust from her mother, teacher and schoolmates, but she have to move on from the past and believe in herself that within time, she can redeem herself to everyone she knows. She turns back to Hitoha with determination in her eyes.

"Miyamizu-sama, I'm going to call my mother." Kasumi said. "I'm going to start doing things right by first apologizing to her."

Hitoha smiled back at her. "And you do not have to worry." She grabs Kasumi's hand and gently held onto it. "I'll be at your side as it happens."

* * *

Later that night, a woman with long black hair and dressed in a long-sleeved black sweater, light gray pants and black shoes walks down the pavement and makes her way to the Miyamizu Shrine. When she arrived at the entrance, she bowed to the Torii gate before heading over to the shrine. She walks over to the pair of wooden doors and pushes them open. She enters the main room and there was nobody in sight.

"Hello?" The woman called. "Is anybody here? Kasumi?"

"Hello mom."

The woman swiftly turn to her left and sees Kasumi and Hitoha walking into the room. The red-haired girl is back in her normal clothes after they have become completely dry.

"Kasumi…" Her mother said morosely. Kasumi and Hitoha stop at their tracks as the woman quickly walks over to her daughter.

The two stood in front of each other for a moment and Kasumi gazed uncomfortably at the ugly scowl on her mother's face. Her mother raised up her hand. Kasumi shuts her eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable.

But after a few seconds, nothing happened. Kasumi opens her eyes and looks back at her mother. Her hand is lowered and her expression of anger and frustration is now replaced by a sad frown.

"I would have done so. But I'm tired of being angry with you." Her mother said as fresh tears appear in her eyes.

Tears also began forming in Kasumi's eyes. She wraps her arms around her mother and sobbed as she buries her face into her shoulder.

"Oh mom, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for all of the things I've done!" She bawled unhappily as her tears splash onto her mother's shoulder.

Kasumi's mother embraces her daughter and lets her tears roll freely down her cheeks. "It's okay, Kasumi. It's okay. I know you are sorry. And I forgive you." She whispered into her ear.

Hitoha silently watched the two stood there, letting their tears out and clinging onto each other tightly. After a minute had passed, Kasumi and her mother pull away from each other and stare at each other with tearstained eyes.

"I know that I did something really bad…and that's why starting tomorrow…I'm going to try my best to make up for everything I've done." Kasumi said softly to her mother.

Her mother gently strokes the side of her daughter's head. "Let's go home."

Just as she whirled about, Kasumi spoke, "Mom, before we go, can I talk to Miyamizu-sama for a moment?"

Her mother turned around and looked at her daughter. She briefly turns her head to Hitoha, who simply gave her a warm smile and a small nod. She turns back to her daughter and nodded her head.

"Of course." She said softly.

Kasumi smiled back at her mother before turning and walking over to Hitoha. The two then gently wrap their arms around each other, slowly pulling themselves into a warm embrace.

"Arigatou Miyamizu-sama. Thank you so much for what you've taught me."

"You're welcome Kinomoto-chan. And thank you too." Hitoha said to her. Kasumi pulls herself away from her and stared at the elderly woman in confusion. "Aside from my granddaughters and their childhood friends, you are the first person to interact with me ever since I moved here. Your presence here made me feel like I have made a friend. You gave me another reason why living here in Tokyo isn't bad after all."

Kasumi chuckled as she smiled warmly at Hitoha. "Miyamizu-sama…don't mind but…can I come back to your shrine again in the future? I would really love to hang out with you again."

"Not a problem at all! You are always welcome here to the Miyamizu Shrine." Hitoha then took out a braided cord from her pocket and holds it out to Kasumi. "Take this. It's for you. It is to remind you that you are now officially a friend of the Miyamizus."

Kasumi takes the cord from Hitoha's hand and examines it. She then wraps and ties the cord around her left wrist. She looks back at Hitoha and her teeth breaks out into a grin as she holds up her left arm, showing off her beautiful gift. Hitoha chuckled before giving her new friend a pat on her right shoulder.

"I bless you good luck in your path to redeem yourself." Hitoha said to Kasumi. The red-haired girl bows her head.

"Arigatou." Kasumi said. She turned around and waved goodbye to Hitoha. The older woman waves back at Kasumi as she goes over to her mother's side.

Her mother returned a warm smile and a bow of gratitude to Hitoha. The elder Miyamizu bowed back to her before she grabs her daughter's hand and the two depart the shrine together.

* * *

 _ **One Month Later…**_

"Wow. Really, Kasumi? This is where your part-time job is?" A tall Caucasian girl with long orange hair and yellow green eyes asked Kasumi as she spots the Miyamizu Shrine in the distance.

"Yup." Kasumi said with a nod as they and another girl with bob cut black hair, brown eyes and wears glasses walk down the pavement together. The three are all dressed in the same light blue school uniforms, blue skirts, and red ribbons around their collars. "It ain't much, but I'm sure the place will grow within time."

They arrived at the Torii gate. The orange-haired girl was about to walk through but Kasumi and the black-haired girl stopped her by grabbing her sleeves.

"You are supposed to bow to gate first before entering." The black-haired girl murmured.

"Oh, sorry." The orange-haired girl said sheepishly before taking a step back. The three girls solemnly bow down to the Torii gate before they enter the shrine.

When they arrive at the large pair of doors to the shrine, Kasumi pushes them open. She grins as she sees Hitoha sweeping the main room of her shrine.

"Kon'nichiwa Miyamizu-sama!" Kasumi greeted.

"Ah! Nice to see you, Kinomoto-chan!" Hitoha smiled at Kasumi as she momentarily stops her sweeping.

"Miyamizu-sama, don't mind that I've invited my friends to the shrine today?" Kasumi inquired.

"You have brought visitors here? That's wonderful!" Hitoha replied merrily as she adjusts her glasses and walks over to Kasumi and her friends. "Welcome to the Miyamizu Shrine. My name is Hitoha Miyamizu. And who you two lovely young ladies might be?"

"Hello, Miyamizu-sama." The orange-haired girl bowed to Hitoha. "My name is Shirley Fenette, a schoolmate of Kasumi. I was born in England but I'm currently studying here in Japan."

"Nice to meet you, Shirley-san." Hitoha said before she and Shirley shook hands. The elder then turned to the black-haired girl who nervously places her hands behind her back.

"H-h-hi…" The girl holds up her hand at Hitoha. "M-my name…i-is-"

"Aw, come on!" Kasumi gave a pat on the girl's back, causing her to jump a bit. "Don't be shy. Miyamizu-sama here won't bite you."

"She's right, you know. Hahahahaha!" Hitoha laughed joyfully.

The girl adjusts her glasses as she looks back at Hitoha. "Hello Miyamizu-sama, my name is…Anri Sonohara." She introduced herself.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sonohara-san." Hitoha smiled as she extends her hand to her. Anri gently grabs her hand and they both shook.

"Please excuse her, Miyamizu-sama." Kasumi wraps an arm around Anri. "She's incredibly shy and still trying her best to talk to others well, but at least she got me and Shirley as her friends. Am I right, Anri?"

Anri couldn't help but laugh as Kasumi grins and starts poking her friend's cheek. "C-cut it out, Kasumi-chan!" Anri said through her giggling.

"It's nice of you to bring her friends here, Kinomoto-chan. But it's time for you to change into your work clothes." Hitoha reminded Kasumi. The red-haired girl releases her friend and stood firmly as she faced Hitoha.

"You got it, Miyamizu-sama!" Kasumi said.

A warm smile plasters across Hitoha's face as she watched her shrine maiden walking hastily to her room. She turns back to Anri and Shirley. "So, are you two close friends of Kasumi?" She asked them.

"Yes, we are." Shirley said as she and Anri nodded. "Honestly, before we met her, neither of us really had anyone to hang out with in school. Because I have good grades in school and other people think I'm very attractive, most of my female classmates became jealous and stayed away from me. It hurts my feelings so much that I avoided talking to other people afterwards, until she showed up in my life."

"And for me…I was…incredibly quiet in school." Anri struggled to say. "Because of that…I had trouble speaking to others in school and…sometimes, I get picked on by others who think I'm weird…all because I don't talk much. It's funny that I'm in the same class as Kasumi…but we never really spoke to each other until now…"

"I guess because she knows that we're lonely and we needed someone to talk to, Kasumi just came over to us. We started talking frequently to each other and before we knew it, we have become incredibly close within only a month." Shirley added.

"And because of her, neither of us felt lonely in school anymore." Anri finished.

The two girls widen their eyes and panicked when they notice Hitoha wiping off small tears from her eyes. "H-hey! Are you alright?" Shirley blurted out in concern.

"Oh, don't worry about me!" Hitoha cried before she cackled with laughter, much to the confusion of Shirley and Anri. When her laughter died down, Hitoha smiled back at the two. "I'm just glad to know that Kasumi had since made two wonderful friends in school ever since we first met each other. She truly has become a much stronger person than I thought."

Shirley and Anri stared blankly at her for a moment before large smiles finally took form on their faces as their eyes softened.

Hitoha lets out a blissful sigh. A month ago, Kasumi Kinomoto was a pathetic and helpless 17-year old girl, suffering from emotional distress over the loss of trust and care from her mother and schoolmates. She was completely alone with no one to rely on and confide in. Her entire world could have ended there.

But thankfully, she stumbled onto her shrine and met her.

During her stay in the Miyamizu Shrine, Kasumi regained control of her own self and found back her will to continue living. She made friends with Hitoha and reconciled with her mother. She began her path to redemption and since then, within a month, not only did she fully recovered from her dark past and put herself back on track, but she also officially became a shrine maiden of the Miyamizu Shrine and made two new friends to fill up the gaping hole in her heart.

Hitoha couldn't be happier to know that her efforts in helping her have truly paid off.

"I'm here, Miyamizu-sama!"

Hitoha turned around to see Kasumi, now dressed in her white haori and red hakama, smiling at her and placing her hands on the sides of her hips, ready to start a new day of work at the Miyamizu Shrine.

"Great." Hitoha nods her head to her. "First, why not start by making some tea for the guests you have brought here?" Shirley and Anri smiled at Kasumi, looking astonished to see their schoolmate dressed in beautiful traditional Japanese clothes at the same time.

Kasumi grins as she nods her head back to her friend and boss.

"Hai!"

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Sovereign: I hope you all enjoyed reading this story. This is just a story that I wanted to write featuring my OC Kasumi Kinomoto which I introduced in _Being With You_. Be sure to let me know what you guys think of this story by leaving a review!**

 **And kudos to anyone who can tell me where Shirley Fenette and Anri Sonohara actually come from. Heh.**


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